Peter Luff: With effect from 31 July 2010, the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency (DSDA) will cease to have the status of an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
	DSDA was established as an agency in 1999 to store, maintain, issue, process and distribute material for the MOD and other designated users. In April 2006, DSDA launched a major efficiency programme under the future defence supply chain initiative (FDSCi). This completed in 2008 having successfully delivered savings of 35% in annual operating costs, reductions in staff levels of 37% and fundamental improvements in service levels.
	Subsequently the operational efficiency programme (OEP) has been considering potential future operating models for DSDA post-FDSCi. It anticipated greater value for money may be achieved by pursuing a strategy of increased outsourcing and transfer of business and assets to third party providers for the majority of activities that can be delivered outside of MOD.
	This does not require agency status. Moreover, the change of status will enable the restructuring of the joint support chain to improve and streamline the end to end support chain to be fully implemented and deliver significant improvements.

Prime Minister's Question Clarification-Yarl's Wood

Decommissioning ContactPoint

General Affairs /Foreign Affairs Council (Agenda)

Andrew Lansley: Today I am publishing two further supporting documents to the national health service White Paper, "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS", which was published on 12 July. The documents have been placed in the Library, and copies are available to hon. Members in the Vote office. The documents are also available at: www.dh.gov.uk/liberatingtheNHS.
	The documents, "Commissioning for Patients" and "Local Democratic Legitimacy in Health" provide further detail on the principles of the policies set out in the White Paper, and seek views from the public and external partners on some of the questions arising out of them.
	One of the central features of the proposals in the White Paper is to devolve commissioning responsibilities and budgets as far as possible to those who are best placed to act as patients' advocates and support them in their healthcare choices. "Commissioning for Patients" sets out my intended arrangements for general practitioner (GP) commissioning and the role of the NHS Commissioning Board.
	Through our world-renowned system of general practice, GPs and other primary care professionals are already supporting patients in managing their health, promoting continuity and co-ordination of care, and making referrals to more specialist services. In empowering GP practices to come together in wider groupings, or "consortia", to commission care on their patients' behalf and manage NHS resources, we are building on these foundations. We are also empowering primary care clinicians to work more effectively alongside the full range of other health and care professionals and, where appropriate, to work collaboratively to combine their commissioning power and influence. The NHS Commissioning Board will provide overall leadership on commissioning for quality improvement. It will have a duty to ensure comprehensive coverage of consortia and hold them to account for the outcomes they achieve and for their financial performance.
	"Local Democratic Legitimacy in Health" is a joint publication between my Department and the Department for Communities and Local Government. It sets out proposals to increase local democratic legitimacy in a way that is consistent with national accountability for a national health service. Local authorities will become responsible for local public health improvement functions. They will have a new role in shaping NHS commissioning activities and a new role promoting integration. Local authorities will lead in assessing the needs of their populations and co-ordinate local strategies to address these needs. This will promote integration and partnership across the NHS, social care, public health and wider services such as housing and disability services. Local HealthWatch organisations, acting as independent consumer champions, will also be funded by and accountable to local authorities. To reinforce local accountability, local authorities will be responsible for ensuring that local HealthWatch are operating effectively, and for putting in place better arrangements if they are not.
	The document also outlines how local authorities may choose to work with their partners to implement the arrangements and how the new public and patient involvement and local authority health improvement functions will be taken forward.
	Both documents seek views on a number of questions by 11 October.

James Brokenshire: My right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and I attended the Justice and Home Affairs Informal Council on 15 and 16 July in Brussels.
	Discussions on the Interior day centred on two themes: how to reach a common European Asylum System by 2012 and crime prevention.
	During the first session, the presidency posed a couple of questions asking whether priority should be given to the negotiations on the Dublin and Eurodac regulations and qualification and long-term residence directives while allowing additional time to consider the appropriate way forward on the procedures and reception conditions directives and whether Ministers supported the inclusion of a temporary suspension clause in the Dublin regulation for countries under pressure.
	I underlined that asylum required an international response and that the UK had taken in the highest number of individuals in Europe last year. However, the UK did not believe the directives resolved the challenges facing member states: they increased the rights of asylum seekers, at the expense of providing protection quickly for those in need and return for those who were not in need. I underlined the need for practical co-operation to build the capacity of member states' asylum systems including via the European Asylum System Office and Frontex. On Dublin I said that the UK remained very sceptical of a suspension mechanism, which would address the symptoms not the cause of the problems and risked making them worse.
	During the second session, the presidency posed a number of questions on crime prevention-calling for implementation of the EU internal security strategy to focus on practical co-operation and prevention, identification of a methodology for prioritising threats and identified two areas where work might begin on firearms trafficking and itinerant groups.
	I welcomed the presidency priority given to the internal security strategy and the Commission's analysis of the link between organised crime and local crime, particularly efforts to tackle illegal firearms but on itinerant groups I would want more information on how they were to be defined. I noted the role of passenger name records in fighting organised crime and expressed disappointment at the Commission's recent information that the directive would not be published until next year. Other delegations also called on the Commission to bring forward plans to publish an EU passenger name records directive
	Discussions on the Justice day centred on the role of Eurojust and the launch of the e-Justice portal. The Justice Secretary stated that the UK valued Eurojust and felt that the EU should wait until the Eurojust council decision had been fully implemented and evaluated before looking to legislate in this area again. The Justice Secretary reinforced the UK's position that it would not be participating in the European Public Prosecutor Office.
	The European e-Justice portal was launched by the Belgian Justice Minister with Commissioner Reding. The portal is a website that functions as a point of access to a range of information on justice matters across the EU. This first release of the portal concentrates on the provision of information-for example how the legal systems in each member state work and links to websites of most relevant interest to citizens and lawyers.

Theresa May: I am pleased to be able to inform the House that Lord Carlile of Berriew QC has completed his report on the operation in 2009 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and part 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006, which will be laid before the House today. Copies of the report will be available in the Vote Office.
	I am grateful to Lord Carlile for his detailed report and thank him for his continuing work in carrying out the role of independent reviewer for terrorism legislation so effectively.
	I will carefully consider his views and recommendations. Given a number of Lord Carlile's key recommendations relate to powers that are being considered in the review of counter-terrorism and security powers that I reported to the House on 13 July 2010,1 intend to respond to his report after that review has been completed.

Jonathan Djanogly: My hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces and I think it right that we continue the previous Government's practice of issuing quarterly statements to the House detailing inquests of service personnel who have died overseas. There was, however, no written ministerial statement in late April because of the general election. This is the first of these statements that we have made.
	Like our predecessors, we too cannot express enough how highly we regard all of our service personnel who are or have been involved in the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. We send our deepest condolences to the families of those personnel who have been killed serving their country. It is also with particular sadness that we note that, since the previous Government gave their last statement on 2 February, 71 further servicemen and women have died.
	Today we are announcing the current status of inquests conducted by the Wiltshire and Swindon and other coroners. This statement gives the position at 16 July.
	The tables which accompany this statement include information about those cases which involve a board of inquiry or a service inquiry. It is encouraging to see that steps are being taken to reduce the average period of time from the date of death to the inquest. We very much hope that this trend will continue, as it greatly benefits the bereaved families primarily, but also other parties to the inquests. In some cases a coroner may chose not to hold their inquest until the completion of a service inquiry, or it may be delayed for other logistical reasons. It is important that the coroner has all possible information about the death, and that all witnesses are able to attend the hearing.
	Current status of inquests
	Since the last statement a further 71 inquests have been held into the deaths of service personnel in operations in Iraq or Afghanistan. This makes a total of 325 inquests held into deaths of service personnel in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since June 2006, when additional resources were first provided to the Oxfordshire coroner.
	Since operations commenced in 2001 there have been a total of 376 inquests into the deaths of service personnel who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, including six service personnel who died in the UK of their injuries. In two further cases, no formal inquest was held, but the deaths were taken into consideration during inquest proceedings for those who died in the same incident.
	We would like to express our gratitude for the efforts of all of the coroners who are involved in conducting these inquests. We also wish to state that we are committed to continuing the Government's support for these coroners.
	Open inquests
	i. Pre-31 March 2007 Fatalities
	There are currently no outstanding pre-March 31 2007 inquests in the Oxfordshire coroner's district.
	ii. Post-1 April 2007 Fatalities
	Since 1 April 2007 fatalities have been repatriated via RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire and since October 2007 additional resources were provided by the previous Government to ensure that a backlog of inquests did not build up in the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner's district. The coroner, David Ridley, transfers inquests for service personnel to a coroner closer to the bereaved family, where possible.
	There are, at present, 101 open inquests to be concluded into the deaths of service personnel who died in Iraq and Afghanistan whose bodies were repatriated after 1 April 2007 (56 involving deaths in the last six months). Of these, Mr Ridley has retained 34 inquests, while 67 inquests are being conducted by coroners closer to the next-of-kin. At 16 July two recent fatalities had been repatriated but the inquests were yet to be opened. Six recent fatalities awaited repatriation and inquest opening. Hearing dates have been set in 13 cases.
	iii.Inquests into the deaths of service personnel who returned home injured
	There remain 12 inquests to be held of service personnel who returned home injured and subsequently died of their injuries. Hearing dates have been set in two cases.
	We shall keep the House informed about progress with the remaining inquests. I have placed tables in the Library of the House which outline the status of all cases and the date of death in each case. Copies are also available in the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office.